In order to have a camera in position for convenient use at any time, it is a common practice to support the camera, hanging in front of the body of the user, from a strap which passes around the neck of the camera user. It has also become common for a person to wear two cameras, one hanging below the other, for use with different kinds of lenses and films, depending upon the particular picture to be taken.
It is very convenient to have a camera hanging in a centered position in front of the body; but some cameras are objectionably heavy, particularly when equipped with elaborate lens systems for telephoto work; and the weight of such a camera hanging around the neck strap is uncomfortable. When there are two cameras hanging at different levels of the strap, the added weight of the second camera makes the strap even more uncomfortable.
This invention is a novel strap which holds the cameras in the same convenient positions as a neck strap; but the strap of this invention is supported entirely from the shoulders and has no part which bears against the back of the neck. The downwardly extending portions of the strap pass over the shoulders and then converge as they extend downward behind the shoulders. The converging portions of the strap are held down by a stretchable portion of the strap which is anchored to the waist band or belt of the trousers or skirt of a person wearing the belt.
The stretchable portion of the strap is preferably detachable from the remainder of the strap; but when attached, is held centered on the converging strap portions so as to distribute the pull on the shoulders substantially evenly. The connection at the lower end of the stretchable portion can be clamped or clipped to the garment to which it is connected, or can be used as a loop through which a belt is passed.
The front portions of the strap have conventional adjustments for their length to determine the level at which the lower camera is supported; and they also have connections for the upper camera which are adjustable independently of the length of the strap to obtain any desired spacing between the upper and lower cameras.
Another advantage of the stretchable portion of the back of the strap is that it holds the strap down when the user raises the upper camera, with the camera on short supporting connections, to eye height for making an exposure.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.